It’s not often that Rep. Michael Arcuri turns against his left-wing base, but last week he did just that when he voted to condemn MoveOn for its smear of Gen. David Petraeus in the New York Times — despite the fact MoveOn raised $183,495.05 for Arcuri’s 2006 election campaign.
Arcuri’s decision hasn’t won much sympathy from liberal bloggers. The liberal blog Open Left examined the vote and what it means for those who voted like Arcuri.
We achieved some remarkable things in 2006, and I don’t think our calculation of trying and succeeding in winning Congress back by supporting the party was wrong. But now we have to reassess our strategic objectives, and that starts with understanding where there’s leverage. That’s already started, with us asking the Blue Majority candidates how they would have voted on FISA and the supplemental, and engaging in more House primary fights.
But there’s a HUGE amount on the table, in terms of money and energy from us that’s going to people who vote against our values. We ought to think through the massive betrayal that we’re experiencing, not as a loss, but as an opportunity to learn how to deal with leverage. After all, in 2009, a whole lot of Americans are probably going to wake up to a new female leader, and they are going to believe that everything is fresh and new, that the bad people are finally gone and good governance and a real America can finally return even as the new administration is packed with status quo Democrats.
Another liberal blog, Daily Gotham, got personal, calling Arcuri and his Democrat colleagues “patsies.”
Dear Democrats, we need to have a talk. The subject of that talk is going to be just how much of a disappointment you are. And face it, you are a disappointment. Your poll numbers don’t lie.
The newest installment of your chronicle of disappointments is one that is especially bitter, because it illustrates with startling clarity just how deeply, how irretrievably, you don’t get it. I’m talking, of course, about the MoveOn.org censure vote.
Will this left-wing anger translate into Democrat primary opposition for Arcuri and others?
